Astraware has a history of producing good quality puzzle games and some of these will always have a place on my smartphone- Text Twist, Bejeweled 2 and Big Money, to name but three. Westward is a whole new ball game and one that attempts to grow out of your phone, and create an environment so immersive that you could actually forget that you are sat in a Doctor's surgery or on a conference call. So, the question is whether it acheives the nigh impossible task of bringing a 'big' game to the small screen.

I have tested Westward on a Centro and an expansion card is recommended because the prc file weighs in at over 2MB. This is not big by today's standards, but may stretch the more limited Palm PDAs and smartphones. When you first open the game, the real shock is that the entire game fits into less than 3MB of space. You are greeted with a classic western style soundtrack and througout the game this theme continues, with American old style yee haa music to get you in the mood for building towns from the days when Mary Ingles was not blind.

The tutorial is excellent and one of the best that I have seen in any game. There is a lot to remember, but it is carefully thought out and takes you through the main steps visually. Your hand is held at each stage and whilst this may frustrate the more impatient of you reading this, it really does work and I would recommend a few minutes of your time to learn how to play the game properly.

In essence, the game is based on building communities and this is done by controlling various characters who can utilise natural products to repair and create new buildings. I must admit to not aving got too far into the game, but I keep coming back to it for more. The graphics and animations are some of the best I have seen on a smartphone and they certainly add a touch of realism to the interface, and strangely drag you in before you are aware that you will never get back the hour you just spent playing it.

On a screen the size of the Centro, the amount of information on screen can be hard to fathom initially, but it soon fits into place and almost feels alive. The animations are detailed to the point that I still struggle to understand how they created them. It should be impossible to produce such clarity in such a small space, but Westward gives Warfare Inc. a run for it's money when it comes to building an arcade quality world on, of all things, a phone!

This will be part one of my Westward review because I have only played it for two hours so far. Two hours would normally be more than enough time to offer a comprehensive and detailed review for most games, but I feel like I haven't scratched the surface yet.

My initial thoughts are that Westward could be Astraware's best game yet, and that is saying something considering the history of games produced by this developer.

Available from Astraware for Palm OS and Windows Mobile Pocket PC / Smartphone.

It's that time again. Scotland play England on Saturday in the Six Nations Rugy Union Championship.

All you have to do is use the comments link below to guess the total number of points that will be scored in the match. The person nearest the total will take home $25 of free software from our Palm or Windows Mobile software stores. If Scotland win (no chance!), the prize will go up to $40!

Links: Palm Store / Windows Mobile Store

I was searching for two old Palm favourites yesterday and after a LONG time managed to find download links to Day Trader and Amusement Park.

Day Trader is a highly addictive game that will keep you on the edge of your seat and, despite the fact it is not in colour it still provides an absorbing experience. The download link is here.

"DayTrader (formerly Stock Ticker) is a game where you try to earn as much money as you can by buying and selling stocks on an imaginary stock market. Playing instructions are available within the game. Enjoy! DayTrader was recently reviewed in issue #5 of PalmUser magazine. Here are a few text snippets, lifted straight from the review by Anne Johnstone: "I'm not sure whether to classify this game as arcade, puzzle or strategy, but it's certainly original. Kevin Umbach's Day Trader presents six imaginary stocks, complete with animated graphs showing their recent history. The aim of the game is to buy and sell each one at just the right time to make a profit. With days slipping by at one every second, keeping on top of the share information presented is a fairly frantic, but absorbing task. Making the game even more interesting are share dividends and the possibility of companies going bust." PalmUser magazine issue 5."

Amusement Park was cut down in it's prime and we never saw a colour version, but it still plays brilliantly today. I can't see a way to get it registered, but the trial is still great fun. You can download it here.

"A collection of ten amusing games based on recognition, pattern matching, reflexes, and concentration. Break all the records in Hard mode and you will unlock two hidden games. Games are suitable for all ages."

Which older games or applications would you like to add to your collection, but can no longer find? Let us know via the comments link and we will try to find them for you.

Resco Explorer 2008 has been released and contains many GUI changes and some exciting new features-

Smooth scrolling of the file lists
Search dialog improved
The tree icon moved to the bottom toolbar
Bottom toolbar: Cut/Copy/Paste icons substituted by a kind of Copy/Paste icons. (The decision whether to copy or move is done during the Paste phase.)
Bottom toolbar: Duplicate icon was substituted by CopyTo.
Search icon was integrated with the incremental search box. (The icon retains the old functionality, i.e. you can tap it.)

New root-level folder Secure Files. (= shortcut to the card folder /Secured)
Any file copied to this folder gets encrypted, any file copied from this folder gets decrypted.
Common file types (images, Office documents etc.) can be opened/edited directly from the secure storage.
Files copied to the underlying card folder /Secured by a non-standard mean (i.e. using anything else except a copy to the root folder 'Secure Files') are identified and:
These files are not listed under 'Secure Files' folder.
Explorer gives a chance (once per Explorer run) to import these files.
Secure storage uses single password that is setup at the first use.
The password is remembered during one Explorer session plus 1 minute afterwards.
To change the password use the context menu of the Secure Files folder. (Allowed only for empty secure storage)
Secure storage uses 128 bit AES encryption.
The stored documents can be opened with WinZip, 7Zip, Power Archiver. (WinRar, Total Commander do not work.)

and the list of changes goes on and on and on...

Google added another option today that lets you sync your Google Calendar with Microsoft Outlook Calendar. You can sync your calendars either one way or both ways and check your Google Calendar in an offline mode in Outlook. This announcement appeared in the Google Calendar’s “What’s New Page”.

With Google Calendar Sync, you will be able to sync events between Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar. You can download the program here (.exe file). Once you start the program it will ask you to enter the e-mail address and password (as shown in the picture below).

You have to specify whether you want one way or bi-directional sync between the two calendars and also you need to specify the time interval between the sync.

To know more about this installation setup follow this easy to do instructions.

Since we have multiple calendars in both Outlook as well as in Google, with this Sync program, you can only sync your main calendar (default calendar) between the two.

Another advantage with this feature is once you sync your Google Calendar with Outlook Calendar, then it becomes easy to sync it with your mobiles like Palm, Windows Mobile based handhelds. Thanks to Chris.

Americans have become more dependent on their cell phones than conventional phones.

For the first time, Americans say they would have more trouble giving up a cell phone than a traditional phone, the Pew Internet and American Life Project said in a report Wednesday. Less than two years earlier, respondents still considered their landlines the most crucial technology.

"The preferences have flipped," said John Horrigan, author of the new Pew report. "During that timeframe, people have gotten new devices that have more capabilities. People have more experience using cell phones for text messaging and other information tools. That has helped pushed cell phones as `go to' devices." More at Yahoo.

Today's free eBook is Kiosk- "THE FABRIKATOR WAS UGLY, noisy, a fire hazard, and it smelled. Borislav got it for the kids in the neighborhood.

One snowy morning, in his work gloves, long coat, and fur hat, he loudly power-sawed through the wall of his kiosk. He duct-taped and stapled the fabrikator into place.
   
The neighborhood kids caught on instantly. His new venture was a big hit.
   
The fabrikator made little plastic toys from 3-D computer models. After a week, the fab's dirt-cheap toys literally turned into dirt. The fabbed toys just crumbled away, into a waxy, non-toxic substance that the smaller kids tended to chew.
   
Borislav had naturally figured that the brief lifetime of these toys might discourage the kids from buying them. This just wasn't so. This wasn't a bug: this was a feature. Every day after school, an eager gang of kids clustered around Borislav's green kiosk. They slapped down their tinny pocket change with mittened hands. Then they exulted, quarreled, and sometimes even punched each other over the shining fab-cards."